I'm pretty tired these days. There's just something about the perpetual work cycle that wears me out. Get up, exercise, cook, clean, run errands, work, maintain, fix, shop, and go to bed so I can get up and do it all again tomorrow. Then recently I heard the rumor that put me over the edge—I "get to work" in heaven too? Now wait a minute. I thought heaven was all about R & R. you know, non-stop beach vacation complete with bottomless pina coladas? Quit working and have fun? How can it be heaven if I have to keep this kind of schedule forever?
It's times like these when I'm tempted to doubt God's character. That's what it really comes down to. What's He going to expect from me? Will His Kingdom plan for me really be good or will I secretly hate it? Will it be laborious and mundane like work here in this age, or will it somehow be more satisfying? I know it's supposed to be heaven on earth and all, but I haven't experienced anything like it before. What if work is still toilsome?
I'm really working on not freaking out on God and doing irrational things when sudden doubts and fears emerge. I'm learning to go right to Him with my fears and then choosing to believe in His goodness, even when I'm scared or it's hard. I also try asking Him to give me understanding, which He usually does, but sometimes it takes awhile. Thankfully, this was not one of those occasions.
In three days time I read three verses that addressed my very concerns:
Genesis 2:8-9 "Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground."
In the world God created, He planted the garden for the people, which was the hardest part of the work.
Hebrews 1:1 "Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it."
At this point, I understood that He indeed scheduled a rest for me in the next phase of His Kingdom (Hebrew 4 is all about the Millennial Kingdom, which is not the same as the eternal Kingdom). I'm confident that after this nice long rest, I will be ready to get back to work!
Deuteronomy 6:10-11. "When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you-a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant."
This foreshadow of the next Promised Land (also the Millennial Kingdom). God let us know that in that phase of the Kingdom, He will build our cities and provide for all our daily needs. The hard work will be taken care of. It will be a real "turn-key" operation!
The last part of the answer impressed upon my heart on the third day. The law of entropy (things in our universe coming into disorder) was not part of the original creation before the fall, it was part of the curse. In the new Kingdom, it will be removed. When we work in the Kingdom, we will finally be able to move forward instead of always having to backtrack (good news for house cleaners and moms of toddlers!). I believe God will somehow sustain the work we do by His power, removing the toil. Things will not break, rot, ruin, get dirty, fall apart, or need to constantly be redone. That is the wearisome part of this world and the curse of toil, and finally it will be gone for good.
For now, after laboring over this journal entry and straining all those brain cells, please excuse me. I need to go take a nap!